GLIMPSES  OF  OXFORD 

DURING  THE  THIRTEENTH, 

FOURTEENTH  AND 
FIFTEENTH  CENTURIES 


by 


LOWELL  JOSEPH  RAGATZ 


PAUL  PEARLMAN 

Publisher 

WASHINGTON 


GLIMPSES  OF  OXFORD 

DURING  THE  THIRTEENTH, 

FOURTEENTH  AND 
FIFTEENTH  CENTURIES 


BY 
LOWELL  JOSEPH  RAGATZ 


PAUL  PEARLMAN 

Publisher 
WASHINGTON 


LF5 
1*3 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

Chapter  Page 

PREFACE 5 

I  OFFICIALS  AND  THE  HALLS  AND  COLLEGES 7 

II  THE  POVERTY  OF  MEDIEVAL  OXFORD 13 

III  PRIVILEGES  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY 18 

IV  TOWN  AND  GOWN  RELATIONS 23 

V  ACADEMIC  LIFE 27 

VI  MISDEMEANORS 3  5 

BIBLIOGRAPHY....  39 


677131 


PREFACE 

The  object  of  this  work  is  indicated  exactly  by  its  title — to  give 
glimpses  of  Oxford  during  the  twelve,  thirteen  and  fourteen  hun- 
dreds. It  was  during  these  centuries  that  the  university  gradually 
evolved  from  a  number  of  halls  and  colleges.  Not  until  the  close 
of  the  period  named  did  the  system  of  halls  come  to  an  end;  only 
then  did  the  colleges,  hitherto  largely  outside  the  university,  come 
under  its  co-ordinating  control.  The  Oxford  we  are  to  consider, 
then,  is  the  one  of  the  Middle  Ages,  with  characteristics  many  of 
which  were  common  to  Cambridge  and  the  contiptental  universi- 
ties of  the  same  day.  \  \  }*,j  \  V/ 

Source  material  has  been  extensively  drawj2 ,  upon  'in  making 
this  survey.  Thanks  to  the  activities  of  the'uOxioi;<l  Hk't'odijil 
Society,  a  tremendous  mass  of  records  has  tiecome '  available  to 
the  student  in  recent  times.  That  organization,  founded  in  1884 
"for  the  publication  of  literature  illustrative  of  the  history  of  the 
university  and  city  of  Oxford,  and  of  the  neighboring  country,"1 
has  to  date  issued  seventy-one  volumes  falling  within  this  scope, 
the  last  to  appear,  bearing  the  nominal  date  of  1917,  having  been 
issued  in  1920. 

In  addition,  volumes  useful  for  our  purpose  will  be  found  in 
the  series  The  Chronicles  and  Memorials  of  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland  During  the  Middle  Ages,  publication  of  which  began  in 
1857  by  authority  of  the  British  Treasury,  under  direction  of  the 
Master  of  Rolls,  and  was  regularly  continued  up  to  1896. 

Both  sets  are  exceedingly  well-done.  Each  individual  work 
was  written,  compiled  or  edited  by  an  authority  given  sufficient 
time  to  present  a  finished  product  of  permanent  value. 

No  attempt  has  been  made  to  exhaust  the  material  available  in 
the  two  series  named,  exigencies  of  time  forbidding  this.  Instead, 
several  volumes  have  been  carefully  selected  as  being  the  best  from 
the  point  of  view  of  presenting  varied  pictures  of  academic  life 
during  Oxford's  medieval  period,  and  these  have  been  thoroughly 
exploited. 

Muniment  a  Academica2  contains  documents  on  the  subject 
ranging  from  the  early  thirteenth  to  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth 
centuries. 

Epistolae  Acadenticae  Oxon*  largely  a  collection  of  letters, 
gives  clear  impressions  of  the  university  in  the  fourteen  hundreds. 


*The  Objects  and  Work  of  the  Oxford  Historical  Society  (Oxford,  1900), 
p.  5. 

3  Number  50  of  the  Chronicles  and  Memorials  Series  (1868). 
3Vols.  XXXV  and  XXXVI  of  the  Oxford  Historical  Series  (1898). 


Only  one  volume  of  Mediaeval  Archives  of  the  University  of 
Oxford4  has  appeared  to  date.  In  this  are  found  records  of 
privileges,  letters  patent,  statutes  concerning  the  university  and 
title  deeds  to  university  property  dating  from  the  Middle  Ages. 
Collectanea,  First  Series5  contains,  among  other  things,  an 
account  of  the  fourteenth  century  Stamford  Schism.  This  was 
the  chief  material  of  a  secondary  nature  employed. 

With  few  exceptions,  as  about  fifty  letters  in  English  in  the 
Epistolae  Academicae  Ox  on  and  scattering  documents,  such  as 
writs  in  French,  in  the  Mediaeval  Archives  of  the  University  of 
Oxford,  the  source  material  is  in  Latin,  the  language  of  medieval 
western  universities.  Digests  in  English  are,  however,  provided 
m  many  tc$jeb,j  thus  making  the  volumes  available  for  use  by 
those  without  knowledge  of  this  language  of  another  day. 

r£0:|L:/-V.-:  L.  J.  R. 

The  University  of  Pennsylvania, 

Philadelphia. 
18  January  1922. 


4  Vol.  LXX  of  the  Oxford  Historical  Series  (1920). 
6  Vol.  V  of  the  Oxford  Historical  Series  (1885). 


OFFICIALS  AND  THE  HALLS  AND  COLLEGES 

Legend  states  that  there  was  already  a  university  in  the  borough 
of  Oxford  in  pre-Conquest  days  but  this  tale  is  given  no  credence 
today.1  Just  how  Oxford  came  to  be  an  educational  center  is 
not  clear.  It  is  certain,  however,  that  at  the  opening  of  the  thir- 
teenth century,  the  university  was  already  in  existence.  Like  in 
other  early  seats  of  learning,  halls  about  the  town  were  engaged 
by  masters  who  conducted  them  as  private  ventures.  Religious 
orders  also  gave  instruction.  The  schools,  thus,  had  become 
numerous  and  rivalries  keen.  To  bring  order  oiit  «ol  chaos,  the 
university  as  such  was  constituted  before  1200. 

A  Chancellor,  elected  by  a  Regent  Master  o-f  'teach  faculty  -and 
an  equal  number  of  Masters  of  Arts,2  became  tfte^hief '  biftg&V. 
His  term  was  set  at  two  years.3  At  first,  no  such  election  was 
valid  until  it  had  been  confirmed  by  the  diocesan,  but  after  1368 
this  requirement  was  abolished.4  At  the  outset,  the  office  auto- 
matically became  vacant  if  its  incumbent  was  absent  from  Oxford 
continuously  for  over  a  month  except  when  called  away  on  uni- 
versity affairs.5  In  the  fifteenth  century  this  regulation  was 
fundamentally  altered,  the  obligation  as  to  residence  being  re- 
moved6 while  the  term  of  office  was  changed  to  life  tenure.7 

The  resident  Chancellors  had  been  men  of  low  estate  who  had 
personally  attended  to  the  duties  of  their  office.  Under  the  new 
order,  absentees  of  high  position,  such  as  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln 
and  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  were  named  to  the  post.8  The 
Vice- Chancellor,  previously  serving  merely  in  a  temporary  capacity 
during  absences,  now  regularly  performed  the  actual  work.9 

The  Chancellor's  person  was  inviolate  and  those  laying  hands 
upon  him  were  forthwith  banished  from  the  realm.10  He  like- 
wise enjoyed  the  valued  right  of  carrying  weapons  within  the 
precinct,  a  circuit  of  twelve  miles  about  the  halls.11 

1  James  Parker,  The  Early  History  of  Oxford,  727-1100  (Oxford,  1885), 
pp.  4-62. 

2  Munimenta  Academica  Oxon,  edited  by  the  Reverend  Henry  Anstey   (2 
vols.,  Oxford,  1868). 

3  Ibid.,  I,  p.  106. 

4  Ibid.,  I,  pp.  107,  229. 

5  Ibid.,  I,  p.  127. 

6  Epistolae  Academicae  Oxon,  edited  by  the  Reverend  Henry  Anstey   (2 
vols.,  Oxford,  1898),  II,  pp.  531,  629;  Munimenta,  pp.  742,  743. 

7  Mediaeval  Archives  of  the  University  of  Oxford,  edited  by  H.  F.  Salter 
(in  progress,  Oxford,  1920-?),  I,  p.  VI. 

8  Hpistolae,  II,  pp.  531,  629. 

9  Mediaeval  Archives,  I,  p.  vi. 

10  Munimenta,  I,  p.  127. 

11  Ibid.,  I,  p.  355 ;  II,  p.  540. 

7 


Upon  assuming  leadership  of  the  university,  a  new  executive 
long  bound  himself  to  be  diligent  in  punishing  the  rebellious  and  in 
upholding  the  institution's  privileges,12  which  will  be  considered 
shortly.  Later  non-resident,  titular  heads  were  at  times,  at  least, 
excused  from  taking  this  oath.13  To  symbolize  his  leadership, 
the  "insignia"  were  bestowed  upon  the  Chancellor  at  the  ceremony 
attending  his  induction  into  office.  These  were  a  box  containing 
the  statutes  of  the  university,  "fastened  with  a  silver  clasp";  a 
silver  seal  with  a  chain  of  the  same  metal  "weighing  three  and  one- 
half  ounces"  ;  a  silver  cup  with  a  cover,  standing  on  three  lions  of 
silver  gilt  and  "weighing  thirty-three  ounces";  three  standard 
.  ..jneasvires  :f(>rj  grain  14  ;  four  for  liquids;  Troy  weights  for  use 
":  "•..with.  bread  ''ain^.  money  ;  Lyggyny  ones  for  spices  and  candles;  two 


.   .  .   k  pair.  of.  scales  .for*  the  greater  and  lesser  weights,  "with  a  wooden 
•'.:  :«*:b»x".tO;ll<}.tfem.,'  a  gift  measure  "with  a  case  of  green  leather" 
* 


for  use  with  cloth  ;  an  iron  seal  "of  the  shape  of  the  head  of  an 
ox"  to  mark  wooden  measures15  ;  another  of  the  same  form  to 
mark  earthenware  vessels  and  bakers'  weights  ;  an  anvil  and  ham- 
mer of  iron;  and  two  sheets  containing  copies  of  papal  bulls 
against  heresies.16 

The  Chancellor's  activities  were  many  and  varied.  His  legal 
functions,  embracing  what  were  in  many  respects  his  most  im- 
portant duties,  will  be  discussed  elsewhere.17  He  issued  letters 
of  safe  conduct  to  all  persons  in  any  way  connected  with  the 
institution18  ;  only  menials  engaged  in  his  presence  were  recog- 
nized as  enjoying  the  privileges  of  the  university19  ;  he  kept  on 
file  a  list  of  all  persons  under  his  jurisdiction  as  executive  officer20  ; 
and  lent  solemnity  to  university  gatherings  by  his  presence.21  He 
and  the  proctors  drew  up  and  kept  on  hand  a  list  of  disturbers 
of  the  peace22  and  took  joint  charge  of  the  university  revenue23 
and  the  accounts.24  He  could  also  excommunicate.25 


"Munimenta,  I,  pp.  309,  310. 

"Epistolae,  II,  p.  629. 

"These  and  the  other  standards  of  weight  and  measure  mentioned  were 
employed  in  his  capacity  as  joint  holder  of  the  assize  and  assay  of  weights 
and  measures  with  the  mayor.  See  Chapter  III. 

15  As  being  of  Standard  content,  doubtless. 

16  Mimimenta,  I,  pp.  283-285. 

17  See  Chapter  III. 

18  Munimenta,  II,  p.  724. 
"Ibid.,  II,  p.  686. 
"Ibid.,  I,  p.  279. 
nlbid.,  I,  p.  300. 

™  Ibid.,  I,  p.  317. 

23  Ibid.,  II,  p.  500. 

24  Ibid.,  II,  p.  378. 

*  Ibid.,  I,  pp.  113-116. 

8 


Proctors  were  chosen  annually  in  congregation,  were  not  eligi- 
ble for  re-election26  and  were  assisted  by  helpers  known  as  pro- 
proctors.27  They  were  required  to  be  in  residence  at  the  uni- 
versity throughout  their  entire  tenure  of  office.28  Their  work  was 
wholly  supervisory — they  saw  to  it  that  attendance  rules  were 
enforced,  that  the  university's  privileges  were  guarded,  that  the 
requirements  for  graduation  were  fulfilled  and  that  the  masters 
performed  their  duties.29  They  might  suspend  the  latter30  and 
had  full  power  to  impeach  the  Chancellor.31  As  noted  above, 
they  shared  with  him  responsibility  for  the  maintenance  of  order 
and  control  of  the  institution's  finances. 

The  Beadles  were  minor  officials  chosen  by  the  same  procedure 
as  the  Chancellor.32  They  held  office  for  one  year  and  might  be 
re-elected  indefinitely.33  They  made  summonses  for  scholars  at 
their  request,  published  the  university's  proclamations34  and  rep- 
resented it  at  student  funerals.35  They  were  not  permitted 
to  ask  for  fees  nor  could  they  carry  away  anything  from  masters' 
graduation  feasts.36  Upon  securing  their  degree,  however,  the 
latter  were  required  to  present  the  beadles  with  twenty  shillings 
and  with  a  pair  of  buckskin  gloves  each,  or,  in  lieu  of  the  latter, 
an  additional  five  shillings  was  to  be  divided  among  these 
worthies.37 

Oxford  was  under  the  protection  of  the  Papacy  from  the  thir- 
teenth century  on38  and  of  the  king  as  well  commencing  with  the 
reign  of  Edward  IV.  In  earlier  times,  some  high  noble  or  church- 
men had  served  as  intermediary  when  the  university  was  dealing 
with  the  Crown.39  The  value  which  the  institution  placed  on  the 
ruler's  ready  support  is  seen  by  the  flattering  and  verbally  highly 
ornate  letters  sent  sovereigns  upon  their  accession.40 

Royalty  at  times  made  capital  of  its  position  by  putting  forth 
candidates  to  fill  vacancies,  as  that  of  beadle.41  One  favorite 
was  presented  by  the  queen  with  the  request  that  the  university 


™Munhnenta,  I,  p.  81;  II,  p.  486. 
"Ibid.,  I,  pp.  109,  157,  318,  319. 


,.. 

"Ibid.,  I,  p.  110. 

"Ibid.,  I,  p.  30. 

31  Ibid.,  I,  p.  108. 

"Ibid.,  I,  pp.  321-326;  II,  p.  494. 

33  Ibid.,  II,  p.  496. 

M  Examples  are  given  in  succeeding  pages. 

"Mummenta,  II,  p.  495. 

"Ibid.,  II,  p.  495. 

31  1  bid.,  I,  p.  324. 

39  Ibid.,  I,  pp.  26-29. 

3*Epistolae,  II,  pp.  339,  387,  400,  424. 

40  Ibid.,  II,  pp.  489,  495,  500. 
"Ibid.,  II,  pp.  524,  603,  604. 


authorities  show  "unto  him,  in  anythyng  that  may  be  for  his 
wele  and  profite  among  you,  your  good  favour  and  benevo- 
lence."42 On  another  occasion,  following  the  death  of  Henry 
Mochegood,  beadle  of  divinity,  Prince  Arthur  urged  one  John 
Stanley  for  the  position43  while  the  king  and  queen  recommended 
John  Preton44  and  the  Queen  Mother,  Rychard  Wotton.45  Such 
conflicting  nominations  were  dangerous  since  any  arrangement 
made  might  very  readily  lead  to  the  university  losing  the  favour 
of  some  members  of  the  reigning  family.  In  this  case,  after  care- 
ful consideration,  it  was  decided  to  accept  the  Queen  Mother's  can- 
didate as  she  had  recently  established  a  chair  in  theology.46  Even 
before  the  king  had  become  protector,  beadles  had  been  removed 
from  office  upon  his  complaining  of  misconduct  on  their  part.47 
This  was  done,  of  course,  to  gain  good  standing  with  the  Crown. 

In  1247,  the  introduction  of  the  collegiate  system  by  Walter 
Merton  inaugurated  a  series  of  changes  which  gradually  and  fun- 
damentally altered  conditions  of  life  for  Oxford  students  and 
masters  alike.  We  have  seen  that  it  had  been  customary  for 
lecturers  to  rent  halls  about  the  town  and  to  there  gather  groups 
of  students  about  them.  Such  quarters  were,  however,  poorly 
arranged  for  academic  work.  Furthermore,  there  was  constant 
moving  from  one  location  to  another  which  interrupted  study  and 
prevented  the  growth  of  traditions,  always  powerful  forces  in 
any  center  of  learning. 

Merton  now  purchased  a  property,  established  a  permanent 
college,  endowed  it,  provided  for  its  government  and  devised 
regulations  applicable  to  scholars  resident  there. 

They  were  to  be  admitted  by  election;  were  to  be  chaste,  well- 
conducted,  peaceable,  humble  and  poor ;  were  to  have  capacity  for 
study;  were  to  be  desirous  of  improvement;  were  to  wear  uni- 
forms; were  to  eat  at  a  common  table;  were  to  receive  incomes 
of  fifty  shillings  per  annum  each;  scholarships  were  subject  to 
forfeiture  upon  neglect  of  duty ;  and  expulsion  from  the  collegiate 
body  was  provided  for  in  the  case  of  members  found  guilty  of 
grave  crimes  or  outrages.  A  warden  was  to  be  in  general  charge 
of  the  college's  affairs,  a  dean  was  to  be  chosen  for  every  twenty 
students  and  an  older  individual  in  each  chamber  was  to  be  charged 
with  keeping  the  young  ones  in  order  and  at  their  tasks.48 


II,  p.  594. 
"Ibid.,  II,  p.  666. 

44  Ibid.,  II,  pp.665,  666. 

45  Ibid.,  II,  pp.  667,  668. 
"Ibid.,  II,  pp.  645,  646,  668. 
"Ibid.,  II,  p.  349. 

48  George  C.  Brodrick,  Memorials  of  Merton  College  (Oxford,  1885),  pp. 


10 


Many  other  colleges,  clustering  about  Merton,  appeared  in  the 
course  of  the  next  two  centuries.  This  innovation,  revolutioniz- 
ing housing  conditions,  the  composition  of  the  student  body  and 
methods  of  instruction,  materially  strengthened  the  position  of 
the  university.  With  colleges  in  permanent  quarters  and  in  one 
locality,  the  masters  could  be  held  in  closer  check  than  had  been 
possible  when  they  had  been  in  charge  of  rented  halls,  scattered 
promiscuously  about  the  city.  The  latter  did  not,  however,  dis- 
appear until  near  the  close  of  our  period,  and  their  passing  was 
not  without  regret  to  contemporaries.49 

During  the  hall  period,  the  university  had  sought  to  gain  in 
importance  at  the  expense  of  the  scattered  establishments  by  ex- 
tending gradually  increasing  control  over  them.  Aid  had  been 
given  in  finding  accommodations  for  masters  and  scholars.  Thus, 
in  1303,  the  mayor  and  bailiff  of  Oxford  had  been  requested  to 
lease  to  students  all  houses  that  could  be  spared,50  while  an  agree- 
ment had  been  reached  that  persons  occupying  dwellings  once 
used  for  scholastic  purposes  should  surrender  them  to  masters 
who  might  wish  to  lecture  there.51  Hall-keepers  had  been  for- 
bidden under  pain  of  loss  of  privilege  (q.v.)  for  a  year  and  a  fine 
of  forty  shillings  to  receive  scholars  expelled  from  other  estab- 
lishments, a  ruling  made  necessary  by  the  fact  that  undesirables 
had  found  it  possible  to  remain  at  Oxford  by  the  simple  expedient 
of  gaining  admission  to  another  group  after  having  been  forced 
out  of  one.52  Because  some  principals  of  halls  had  not  punished 
their  charges  for  misdemeanors  committed,  fearing  financial  loss 
thereby,53  all  had  come  to  be  held  strictly  accountable  for  the 
enforcement  of  rules  and  had  likewise  been  forbidden  to  leave 
the  city  without  naming  substitutes  vested  with  full  authority.54 
Much  had  been  accomplished,  then,  in  bringing  the  halls  under 
supervision,  but  at  best,  only  loose  direction  had  been  maintained 
and  students  residing  in  private  homes  had  been  wholly  outside 
university  jurisdiction. 

Now,  by  order  of  King  Henry  V,  from  1421  on,  students  were 
required  to  live  in  either  halls  or  colleges  and  rooming  with  towns- 
men was  strictly  prohibited.55  Consequently  more  than  sixty  halls 
were  occupied  in  1462. 56  But  such  was  the  growth  of  colleges 

*8John  Richard  Green  and  George  Roberson,  Studies  in  Oxford  History 
(Oxford,  1901),  p.  4. 
50  Mediaeval  Archives,  p.  81. 

61  Munimenta,  I,  p.  314. 

62  Ibid,,  I,  p.  252. 
53  Ibid.,  I,  p.  309. 
"Ibid.,  I,  pp.  359,  360. 
65  Ibid.,  I,  pp.  277-279. 
68  Ibid.,  II,  p.  687. 

11 


that  forty  years  later  there  were  not  a  fifth  of  that  number.57 
This,  then,  was  the  period  in  which  the  collegiate  system  prac- 
tically replaced  that  of  the  halls  and  ultimately  all  of  the  latter 
closed.  Whereas  few  undergraduates  had  previously  lived  in 
colleges,  it  now  became  the  normal  thing  for  them  to  do  so  and 
the  university,  which  closely  regulated  such  groups,  became  a 
living  force  in  the  community.  Due,  however,  to  the  fact  that  the 
colleges  owned  properties,  had  extensive  endowments  and  separate 
groups  of  officials,  unification  was  never  effected  and  the  uni- 
versity's absolute  supremacy  was  never  established.  The  result 
has  been  Oxford  as  we  know  it — a  group  of  colleges  whose 
activities  are  co-ordinated  by  a  central  power,  the  university. 


57  The  halls  of  the  late  fifteenth  century  were  distinguished  from  the  typi- 
cally medieval  ones  in  that  they  were  in  reality  miniature  colleges,  in  quite 
permanent  quarters,  and  not  infrequently  had  chapels  attached. 


12 


II 

THE  POVERTY  OF  MEDIEVAL  OXFORD 

The  University  of  Oxford  held  little  property  during  its  medi- 
eval period.  In  the  thirteenth  century,  some  ten  houses  within 
the  city  were  transferred  to  it  but  no  more  gifts  of  real  estate 
were  received  until  1479  when  Wulstan  Hall,  which  was  of  small 
value,  passed  into  its  possession.  This  may  be  explained  by  the 
fact  that  philanthropically  inclined  individuals  tended  to  establish 
colleges  under  university  jurisdiction,  after  the  example  of  Walter 
Merton,  rather  than  to  endow  the  university  proper.  Such  land 
and  buildings  as  were  owned  by  the  latter  were,  for  the  most  part, 
not  used  for  academic  purposes  but  were,  rather,  made  a  source 
of  revenue,  being  rented  out.1 

The  church  of  St.  Mary  the  Virgin  was  long  the  only  structure 
used  by  the  university  itself2  and  it  was  not  until  near  the  close 
of  the  fifteenth  century  that  a  second  was  occupied.  This  was 
a  school  of  divinity,  the  erection  of  which  began  about  1450,3 
and  which  was  financed  at  the  outset  by  a  gift  of  500  marks  from 
the  estate  of  the  late  Cardinal  Beaufort.  But  that  amount  proved 
inadequate4  and  aid  was  sought  from  the  king,  graduates  of  the 
university,  friends  of  the  institution  and  executors  of  estates  in 
order  that  it  might  be  completed.5 

Response  was  both  immediate  and  generous.6  Building  mate- 
rial7 and  money  were  received  from  a  considerable  number  of 
persons.  The  most  noteworthy  cash  gift  was  1,000  marks  from 
Thomas  Kempe,  Bishop  of  London,  two  hundred  being  paid  down 
and  a  similar  amount  being  pledged  annually  until  the  total  should 
have  been  covered.8  The  grateful  Chancellor  and  masters  bound 
themselves  and  their  successors  to  annually  celebrate  mass  for 
the  repose  of  the  souls  of  the  donor  and  his  late  uncle,  sometime 
cardinal  bishop  and  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.9 

One  of  the  properites  owned  by  the  university  and  yielding  four 
marks  rent  annually10  fell  into  such  wretched  state  at  about  the 
same  time  that  it  could  scarcely  longer  be  called  a  building11  — 

1  Mediaeval  Archives,  p.  275;  Epistolae,  I,  pp.  219,  221. 

'Epistolae,  II,  p.  417. 

•Ibid.,  I,  p.  322. 

*  Mumwenta,  II,  p.  573;  Epistolae,  I,  pp.  266,  315,  333. 

'HpUtolae,  I,  pp.  275,  276,  323,  324,  326,  327;  II,  p.  390. 

6  Ibid.,  II,  p.  368. 


. 

8  Ibid.,  II,  p.  439.     Payments  were  actually  received  as  follows:  the  sum 
of  200  m.  in  1479  (p.  451),  a  similar  amount  in  1480  (p.  453),  another  in 
1481  (p.  471),  100  m.  late  in  1481  and  the  balance  in  1482  (p.  474). 

9  Ibid.,  II,  p.  439. 
™Ibid.,  II,  p.  377. 
11  Ibid.,  II,  p.  542. 

13 


the  foundations  were  all  but  beyond  repair12  and  the  walls  were 
so  weak  that  a  strong  wind  was  likely  to  raze  the  entire  structure. 
Assistance  was  therefore  also  sought  in  rebuilding  it13  and  after 
this  had  been  done,  it  was  used  to  house  the  school  of  canon  law.14 

All  of  the  university's  business  and  all  of  its  "solemn  acts,"  such 
as  the  granting  of  degrees  and  the  inception  of  masters  (q.v.)15 
had,  "from  old  time,"  been  performed  in  St.  Mary's  Church.16 
By  the  third  quarter  of  the  fifteenth  century  it,  too,  was  in  the 
last  stages  of  ruin.  The  leaden  roof  was  so  thin  as  to  afford 
little  more  protection  against  the  rain  than  a  sieve.17  Many  per- 
sons were  afraid  to  enter  it  and  those  who  did  so  took  their  lives 
in  their  own  hands.18  The  parishioners  were  poor  and  university 
finances  were  inadequate,  hence  recourse  was  once  more  had  to 
appealing  to  graduates  and  friends  for  contributions,  any  sum 
being  held  acceptable.19  One  gift  of  £200,  from  Richard  Lich- 
feld,  doctor  of  laws,  was  among  these  received.20  The  king  on 
his  part  gave  forty  oaks.21 

The  last  part  of  the  fifteenth  century  was,  then,  a  time  of 
building.  In  1481,  it  was  reported  to  the  bishop  of  London  whose 
generosity  had  done  so  much  to  make  the  second  university  build- 
ing possible,  that  the  workmen  were  "industrious  as  bees  ;  some 
carry  stones,  others  polish  them  ;  some  carve  out  the  statues,  others 
place  them  in  their  niches."22  The  Bishop  of  Winchester  was 
asked  to  loan  machines  which  he  had  used  in  recent  construction 
work.23  Labourers  were  at  one  time  withdrawn  by  order  of  the 
king  who  required  their  services  on  his  own  projects,24  but  by 
1490  the  school  of  divinity  had  been  completed,  that  of  canon 
law  had  been  repaired,  and  work  on  St.  Mary's,  which  it  had  been 
decided  to  rebuild  entirely,  was  well  under  way.25 

The  university,  throughout  its  early  history,  suffered  from 
chronic  poverty,  that  "stepmother  of  learning."26  The  situation 
was  especially  bad  in  the  first  half  of  the  fifteenth  century,  when 
the  nation  had  become  impoverished  through  the  wearying  Hun- 

"Hpistolae,  II,  pp.480,  481. 


14  Ibid.,  II,  p.  571. 

15  Ibid.,  II,  p.  537. 
M/Wd.,II,p.  508. 

"Ibid.,  II,  pp.  417,  508,  509. 

nlbid.,  II,  pp.  417,  536,  566. 

19  Ibid.,  II,  pp.  417,  531-534,  569. 

"Ibid.,  I,  p.  357. 

21  Ibid.,  II,  p.  525. 

23  Ibid.,  II,  p.  470. 

23  Ibid.,  II,  pp.  432,  433. 

"Ibid.,  II,  pp.  445,  446. 

26  Ibid.,  II,  pp.  570,  571,  590,  598. 

MIbid.,  I,  p.  106. 


14 


dred  Years  War.  There  were  then  but  a  thousand  students  in 
attendance27 ;  the  masters'  minds  were  never  free  from  economic 
worries28;  learned  men  languished  from  general  want.29  To 
provide  reward  for  intellectual  labours,  the  Archbishop  of  Can- 
terbury was  requested  to  grant  benefices  to  graduates.  The  nam- 
ing of  ignorant  and  unlettered  men  to  them,  while  those  who 
strove  for  an  education  could  find  no  reward  when  they  had  com- 
pleted their  studies,  was  held  to  be  undermining  learning.30 

When  the  university  was  invited  to  send  representatives  to  the 
Council  of  Basle  to  aid  in  the  refutation  of  prevailing  heresies,  the 
invitation  could  not  be  accepted  because  of  the  lack  of  where- 
withal to  creditably  equip  the  delegation  and  to  provide  for  its 
maintenance  abroad.31  Later,  when  Pope  Eugenius  ordered  the 
institution  to  send  a  group  of  its  most  learned  scholars,  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury  was  appealed  to  for  pecuniary  aid.32 

Various  gifts  were  gratefully  received  from  time  to  time. 
Among  these  may  be  mentioned  "beautiful  silken  vestments  em- 
broidered with  gold,"33  the  right  of  nomination  to  certain  bene- 
fices,34 annual  pensions,35  and  sums  of  money.36  The  individual 
colleges  were  endowed  with  land  by  the  king37  and  with  the 
right  of  advowson  for  given  churches  by  certain  laymen.38  This 
provided  for  the  support  of  members  of  the  collegiate  group  and 
offered  them  positions  upon  graduation.  On  one  occasion,  a 
Queen  Mother  of  her  own  volition  established  and  endowed  a  uni- 
versity chair  of  theology,39  as  already  noted.  The  king  relieved  the 
university  from  the  payment  of  taxes  raised  for  the  conduct  of 
war  and,  late  in  the  fifteenth  century,  exempted  it  from  the  pay- 
ment of  tenths  and  fifteenths  as  well.40 

Books  were  received  from  a  number  of  patrons  and,  being 
the  working  material  for  advanced  study,  they  were  always  wel- 
come, the  more  so  since  their  cost  was  frequently  too  high  for 
the  university  to  purchase  them.  In  the  middle  of  the  four- 


27  Epistolae,  I,  p.  154. 

28  Ibid.,  I,  p.  94. 

29  Ibid.,  I,  p.  136. 

30  Ibid.,  I,  pp.  154,  155. 

31  Ibid.,  I,  p.  72. 
"Ibid.,  I,  p.  153. 
"Ibid.,  I,  p.  313. 
"Ibid.,  II,  p.  371. 
"Ibid.,  II,  p.  399. 

39  Ibid.,  II,  pp.  421,  526,  638. 

"Ibid.,  I,  pp.  287-294. 

"Ibid.,  I,  pp.  219,  221. 

"*  Ibid.,  II,  pp.  645,  646.  It  was  because  of  her  having  done  this  that  her 
candidate,  rather  than  the  king's  and  queen's  or  Prince  Arthur's  was  made 
beadle  of  divinity,  as  related  in  Chapter  I. 

49  Ibid.,  II,  pp.  644,  645 

15 


teenth  century,  the  library  was  located  in  a  room  above  the  con- 
gregation house.41  The  books  were  chained  in  convenient  order 
so  that  students  might  use  them  readily  during  open  hours.  A 
century  later,  a  professional  librarian  was  in  charge.42  Certain 
books  received  at  that  time  were  sold  for  £40  which  provided  an 
annual  income  of  60  sh.  for  the  librarian.  Others  of  lesser  value 
were  purchased  to  replace  the  volumes  sold.43 

The  Duke  of  Gloucester  proved  a  most  generous  donor  in  this 
respect.  To  encourage  the  study  of  the  liberal  arts  and  philosophy, 
he  gave  no  less  than  £1,000  worth  of  books  to  the  university.44 
In  1439,  a  total  of  129  volumes  were  received,45  the  next  year 
seven  more  and,  in  1443,  another  lot  of  130.46  The  extravagant 
thanks  heaped  upon  the  Duke,  whose  offerings  were  called  the 
most  memorable  made  in  the  history  of  the  institution,  and  the 
ordering  of  perpetual  mass  to  be  said  for  the  repose  of  his  soul 
and  for  that  of  the  Duchess,  his  wife,  bear  witness  to  the  value 
attached  to  it  from  an  education  point  of  view.47 

A  new  register  was  ordered  made  in  which  to  catalogue  the 
Gloucester  gift.  No  volumes  nor  any  sheets  from  any  were  to 
be  sold,  given,  exchanged,  loaned  for  copying  purposes  or  removed 
from  the  library  for  repair  save  that  when  the  Duke  wished  to 
use  any  he  might  freely  do  so.  The  collection  was  kept  in  a 
chest  in  the  library  and  was  available  only  to  masters  lecturing  on 
the  arts  and  philosophy  and  to  the  principals  of  halls.  Each  book 
was  to  be  priced  at  a  figure  considerably  above  its  real  value  and, 
in  case  of  loss,  this  sum  was  to  be  paid  by  the  loser  so  that  the 
copy  might  be  replaced.48 

In  his  last  days,  the  Duke  promised  to  give  still  other  volumes 
but,  unhappily,  he  died  before  this  had  been  done.  His  executors 
failed  to  make  his  word  good,49  hence  parliament  and  the  Crown 
were  appealed  to  for  aid  in  securing  them50  and  certain  persons 
near  the  king's  ear  were  requested  to  use  their  influence  in  spur- 
ring him  to  activity.51  The  collection  was,  however,  dispersed, 

41 A  part  of  St.  Mary's. 

and  the  books  fell  into  private  hands  unconnected  with  the  uni- 
versity, where  they  appear  to  have  remained.52 


41  A  part  of  St.  Mary's. 

43  Epistolae,  I,  pp.  227,  228.    See  Chapter  V. 

43  Ibid.,  I,  pp.  227,  228. 

"Ibid.,  I,  p.  184. 

"Ibid.,  I,  p.  179. 

"Ibid.,  I,  p.  232. 

"Ibid.,  I,  pp.  177,  244. 

"Ibid.,  I,  pp.  187-190. 

4glbid.,  I,  pp.  296-298. 

50  Ibid.,  I,  pp.  251,  300,  301. 

"Ibid.,  I,  pp.  253,  258-261. 

62  Ibid.,  I,  pp.  285,  286,  318. 

16 


Profiting  by  this  experience,  the  university  in  1470  requested 
the  Archbishop  of  York  to  give  his  aid  in  immediately  securing 
the  books  valued  at  500  marks  left  to  it  by  the  late  Earl  of  Worces- 
ter, since  delay  in  such  cases  was  "notoriously  dangerous."53 

Richard  Lichfeld,  who  had  given  £200  for  the  restoration  of 
St.  Mary's,  also  presented  the  university  with  128  books.54 
Another  lot  of  142  volumes  was  received  from  an  individual  who 
seems  to  have  been  the  Archdeacon  of  Middlesex.55  Persons  of 
means  and  administrators  of  estates  were  appealed  to  for  donations 
of  this  nature.56  Not  only  persons  of  high  estate  responded.  In 
the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century,  the  offer  of  a  copy  of  Josephus' 
Antiquities,  from  one  Thomas  Knollez,  a  London  grocer,  was 
gratefully  accepted.  He  also  sent  an  unnamed  second  work  which 
was  likewise  appreciatively  received.57  Records  of  other  gifts  of 
books,  ranging  from  a  single  copy  to  thirty-one,  from  persons  of 
various  estate,  have  been  preserved.58 

The  donors  of  books,  in  common  with  other  benefactors  of  the 
university,  were  honoured  by  an  annual  procession  and  by  the 
celebration  of  special  masses,  at  which  all  who  attended  received 
an  indulgence  of  twenty  days  from  the  papal  legate.59 

Thus,  medieval  Oxford  held  little  property  and  much  of  what 
it  did  own  was  merely  used  as  a  source  of  revenue.  Its  lands 
and  buildings  had  for  the  most  part  been  given  to  it  at  an  early 
period;  after  the  institution  of  the  collegiate  system,  the  endow- 
ment of  individual  colleges  rather  than  of  the  university  as  such 
became  customary. 

The  result  was  that  the  revenue  of  the  university  was  small  and 
that  gifts  from  individuals  were  called  for  whenever  an  unusual 
project  was  contemplated.  Gifts  of  books,  too,  were  very  much 
appreciated.  Obviously,  the  work  of  the  institution  must  have 
been  seriously  hampered  by  the  lack  of  funds. 


83  Epistolae,  II,  p.  389. 

04  Ibid.,  I,  p.  357. 

"Ibid.,  II,  p.  559. 

"Ibid.,  I,  p.  281. 

"Ibid.,  I,  pp.  222,  229. 

"Ibid.,  I,  pp.  279,  309,  326;  II,  pp.  373,  382,  482,  483,  532,  533,  544,  545. 

63  Ibid.,  I,  p.  32;  II,  p.  448. 


17 


Ill 

PRIVILEGES  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY 

Oxford  was  an  ecclesiastical  corporation  and  to  enable  persons 
affiliated  with  it  to  pursue  their  work  in  peace,  they  were  privi- 
leged from  early  times.  Thus,  in  the  last  quarter  of  the  thirteenth 
century,  the  following  were  already  stated  to  be  rights  held  "from 
time  immemorial"  though  they  had  actually  been  confirmed  only 
during  the  reign  of  Henry  III. 

No  master  or  scholar  could  be  obliged  to  appear  before  any 
court  except  that  of  the  Chancellor;  the  proving  of  testaments 
of  students  who  had  died  at  the  university  fell  within  the  juris- 
diction of  that  official  and  the  proctors;  and  the  Regent  Master 
had  the  right  of  judicial  inquiry  into  excesses  committed  by  all 
scholars,  parish  priests  and  laymen  who  were  members  of  the 
university.1  The  Papacy  recognized  these  privileges  granted  by 
the  Crown  and  simlilarly  exempted  the  university  from  all  ecclesi- 
astical authority,  that  of  the  archbishop,  for  example.2 

In  general,  persons  connected  with  Oxford  in  any  way  were 
held  to  enjoy  special  status.  Such  individuals  and  their  peculiar 
rights  were  specifically  named  in  agreements  concluded  between 
university  officials  and  city  authorities  at  various  times,  as  in  1290 
and  in  1498.  They  were  the  Chancellor,  all  doctors,  masters, 
bachelors,  undergraduates,  the  families  of  students,  their  servants, 
and  university  employees.3  The  privileges  held  by  these  persons 
were  many  and  were  effective  in  the  university  precinct,  that  is, 
in  the  region  within  twelve  miles  of  the  Latin  Quarter.4 

The  Chancellor  was  given  power  to  banish  for  ten  miles.5  He 
enjoyed  jurisdiction  in  all  cases  concerning  privileged  persons, 
could  summon  the  parties  to  such  a  dispute  before  him,  and  had 
authority  to  pass  judgment  upon  or  excommunicate  them.6  Court 
might  be  conducted  in  any  language  commonly  understood,7  deci- 
sions were  to  be  arrived  at  promptly,8  the  Chancellor  was  not 
obliged  to  inform  the  accused  who  had  preferred  charges  against 
him9  and  compurgation  was  allowed  where  he  saw  fit.10 

Appeals  from  his  court  could  be  made  to  the  whole  university.11 
An  aggrieved  party  might  make  further  appeal  to  the  Pope,  but 

1  Munimenta.  I,  pp.  41.  42. 

3  Ibid.,  I,  p.  79. 

9  Ibid.,  I,  pp.  46-56;  Epistolae,  II,  pp.  343-345. 

*  Munimenta,  II,  p.  540. 

0  Mediaeval  Archives,  p.  247. 

1  Epistolae,  II,  pp.  364,  365. 
7  Munimenta,  I,  p.  77. 
*Ibid.,  I,  p.  260. 

°Ibid.,  II,  p.  537. 

"Ibid.,  II,  pp.  536,  625,  700. 

11  Ibid.,  I,  p.  74. 

18 


in  the  interim  he  was  required  to  submit  to  the  decision  which 
he  sought  to  have  reversed.12  The  Chancellor  also  settled  dis- 
putes in  which  persons  named  arbiters  (q.v.)  failed  to  agree.13 

Privileged  individuals  were  frequently  cited  to  appear  before 
other  courts  but  were  not  obliged  to  obey  such  summons.14  Those 
having  recourse  to  any  court  save  the  Chancellor's  were  held  to 
be  guilty  of  perjury,  they  having  thus  violated  the  oath  to  abide  by 
the  regime  of  exemptions,  taken  upon  admission  to  the  university 
body,  and  became  liable  to  degradation,  expulsion,  excommunica- 
tion and  imprisonment.15 

The  problem  of  precisely  who  was  privileged,  agreements 
between  the  university  and  town  notwithstanding,  was  complicated 
by  the  fact  that  many  "having  the  appearance  of  scholars"  lurked 
about  the  city  in  taverns  and  brothels,  murdering  and  robbing.16 
Furthermore,  ill-tempered  persons  not  infrequently  became  schol- 
ars' servants  so  as  to  enjoy  a  peculiar  status  with  respect  to  their 
enemies.17 

University  privileges  were  vigorously  upheld  in  matters  other 
than  that  of  jurisdiction.  At  tinges,  ridiculous  lengths  were  gone 
to  to  preserve  them  in  pristine  purity.  Thus,  in  1325,  the  mayor 
of  Oxford  caused  the  city  pillory  to  be  moved  from  its  accustomed 
place.  The  university  had  authority  in  this  matter  and,  while  it 
would  ordinarily  have  agreed  to  the  change,  now  refused  to  ac- 
cept it  and  the  Chancellor  excommunicated  the  city  official  as  a 
matter  of  discipline.  Subsequently  the  new  location  was  approved, 
but  the  pillory  was  set  six  feet  from  where  the  mayor  had  seen 
fit  to  locate  it,  thus  vindicating  the  rights  of  the  institution.18 

Goods  of  suicides  within  the  precinct  were  claimed  by  the 
Chancellor  and  proctors,  to  be  applied  to  pious  uses.19 

Only  the  Chancellor,  the  proctors,  their  servants  and  the  king's 
officers  were  permitted  to  carry  weapons  within  the  university 
zone  in  time  of  peace.  Students  coming  to  or  going  from  Oxford, 
were,  however,  permitted  to  bear  arms  to  protect  themselves  against 
attack  en  route.20 

The  Chancellor  and  mayor  from  early  times  held  the  assize 
and  assay  of  bread  and  beer  jointly.  In  the  middle  of  the  four- 
teenth century,  an  agreement  was  reached  whereby  they  also  held 

"Munimenta,  II,  p.  461. 
"Ibid.,  II,  pp.  550-551. 

"Bpistolae,  I,  pp.  157-162,  176,  193,  215,  268,  269;  II,  pp.  378,  379,  444, 
503,  539,  631,  633,  675. 

15  Munimenta,  II,  p.  669;  Hpistolae,  II,  p.  403. 
"Munimenta,  II,  p.  563;  Hpistolae,  I,  pp.  320,  321. 
17  Hpistolae,  II,  p.  548. 
™Munimenta,  I,  pp.  113-116. 
19  Hpistolae ,  II,  pp.  660,  661,  664. 
10  M unimenta,  I,  p.  355. 

19 


those  of  weights  and  measures  in  common.21  In  acknowledgment 
of  being  such  joint  custodian,  the  Chancellor  made  annual  pay- 
ment of  a  penny  to  the  Crown.22  One  hundred  shillings  a  year 
out  of  the  executive's  share  of  the  fines  paid  by  offending  mer- 
chants went  to  the  king,  one-half  of  the  balance  was  paid  into 
the  university  treasury  and  the  remainder  went  into  his  own 
pocket.23  It  was  in  connection  with  this  feature  of  his  work  that 
an  incoming  Chancellor  received  among  other  insignia  of  office, 
the  measures  for  liquid  and  grain,  the  sets  of  weights,  measures 
for  cloth  and  the  iron  seals,  already  spoken  of.24 

While  anyone  might  engage  in  any  branch  of  trade  in  the 
town,25  close  supervision  was  kept  over  all.  Thus,  by  letters  patent 
of  1330,  the  price  of  wine  was  set  at  not  over  half  a  pence  a  gallon 
above  the  London  price26 ;  if  the  proper  charge  were  exceeded, 
the  tavern  could  be  closed.27 

The  price  of  bread  was  regulated  on  a  sliding  scale  according 
to  the  market  value  of  wheat.  It  was  not  to  be  raised  or  lowered 
unless  a  rise  or  fall  of  six  pence  a  quarter  of  grain  had  taken 
place.  Short-weight  loaves  were  punishable  by  fine  and  imprison- 
ment in  the  pillory  or  by  banishment  if  the  accused  refused  to 
appear  when  cited.  Baked  products  were  to  be  trademarked ;  no 
baker  was  permitted  to  make  both  white  and  dark  bread.  On  the 
other  hand,  to  protect  them,  bread  could  be  baked  at  inns  only 
for  use  there.  The  sale  of  adulterated  flour  was  punishable  by 
exposure  in  the  pillory,  a  fine  and  banishment  from  the  city.28 

Tavern  keepers  were  obliged  to  take  an  oath  that  they  would 
brew  only  wholesome  beer  and  that  they  would  allow  it  to  settle 
and  cool  before  offering  it  for  sale.29  Retailers  of  the  beverage 
were  ordered  to  offer  their  product  in  all  parts  of  town  by  cir- 
culating through  the  streets  with  it  and  to  sell  as  large  quantities 
as  customers  might  desire,  under  penalty  of  a  forty  shilling  fine.30 
On  one  occasion,  an  Alice  Everarde  was  suspended  from  the  trade 
for  refusing  to  deal  with  thirsty  students.31  The  price  of  beer 
was  to  remain  stationary  unless  that  of  malt  varied  twelve  pence 
a  quarter,  in  which  event  the  drink  was  to  be  raised  or  lowered 


"Munimenta,  I,  pp.  159-164 

23  Ibid.,  I,  pp.  457,  458. 

"Ibid.,  I,  pp.  187,  188. 

34  In  Chapter  I.      See  Munimenta,  I,  pp.  283-285. 

25  Mediaeval  Archives,  p.  160. 

"Ibid.,  p.  118. 

"Munimenta,  I,  p.  183. 

"Ibid.,  I,  pp.  181,  182,  183;  II,  pp.  517,  615,  695,  696. 

"Ibid.,  II,  pp.  541,  695. 

"Ibid.,  II,  pp.  506-508. 

"Ibid.,  II,  p.  523. 


20 


a  farthing  a  gallon  in  accordance  with  the  trend  of  the  market  for 
that  ingredient.32 

The  sale  of  bad  meat  was  prohibited,  as  was  the  buying  of  flesh 
from  Jews  and  reselling  it  to  Christians.  Imprisonment  and  fines 
were  employed  to  make  those  rulings  effective.33 

Inspections  of  shops  were  regularly  made  to  determine  whether 
purveyors  of  foodstuffs  were  maintaining  standards  which  had 
been  set.  On  one  such  occasion  in  1449  it  was  found  that  the 
bakers  were  making  bad  bread  and  that  they  gave  the  townsmen 
thirteen  units  to  a  dozen  while  the  students  received  but  twelve; 
that  the  beer  sold  was  weak  and  unwholesome ;  that  tradesmen 
recently  fined  refused  to  serve  students  and  principals ;  that  cer- 
tain individuals  enjoyed  a  monopoly  on  the  sale  of  sea-food  and 
were  profiteering;  and  that  others  were  doing  the  same  with 
respect  to  fresh  water  fish.34 

Clothiers,  too,  were  subject  to  rigorous  supervision.  Tailors 
were  ordered  to  cut  academic  dress  according  to  ancient  custom, 
allowing  sufficient  length  of  robe  for  masters  and  beadles.  Offen- 
ders in  either  respect  were  to  be  imprisoned.35  Prices  on  robes 
were  set.36  Upon  complaint  of  the  tailors'  guild  that  petty  shop- 
keepers in  the  suburbs,  within  the  university  precinct,  were  sell- 
ing clothing  at  rates  yielding  profits  equal  to  their  own  without 
contributing  to  the  support  of  the  guild,  which  retained  a  chaplain 
approved  by  university  officials,  the  Chancellor  granted  members 
of  the  organization  the  exclusive  right  of  operating  in  the  uni- 
versity zone.  Dealers  violating  this  regulation  were  to  be  hailed 
before  the  Chancellor's  court  and  fines  levied  upon  them  were  to 
be  divided  between  the  guild  and  the  university.  The  ruling  was 
not,  however,  to  prevent  poor  students  from  making  their  own 
clothing.37 

Members  of  the  university  were  not  permitted  to  practice  medi- 
cine unless  licensed.  Because  many  illiterate  persons  without  de- 
grees had  set  themselves  up  as  physicians,  unqualified  practitioners 
were  made  subject  to  laws  governing  disturbers  of  the  peace  and 
were  punished  accordingly.38 

Certain  booksellers  were  named  stationers  to  the  university. 
Others  were,  however,  engaged  in  catering  to  the  students.  As 
a  means  of  preventing  the  removal  of  valuable  works  from 
Oxford,  a  law  was  passed  whereby  only  the  official  stationers 


33  Munimenta,  I,  p.  183. 

83  Ibid.,  I,  p.  183;  II,  p.  543. 

"Ibid.,  II,  p.  588. 

36  Ibid.,  I,  p.  212. 

38  Ibid.,  II,  p.  382. 

"Epistolae,  II,  pp.  594,  595. 

38  Munimenta,  I,  pp.  236,  237. 


21 


might  legally  sell  volumes  worth  over  half  a  mark  each  under 
penalty  of  fine,  imprisonment  and  the  abjuring  of  trade  within 
the  university  precinct.39 

Thanks  to  the  numerous  privileges  which  had  been  granted, 
the  university  was  able  to  largely  prevent  interference  with  its 
activities  in  any  respect.  It  was,  virtually,  a  separate  govern- 
mental unit  within  the  city  and  even  played  a  large  part  in  local 
affairs,  having  jurisdiction  in  all  cases  in  which  one  party  was  a 
student  and  enjoying  joint  control  with  the  mayor  over  resident 
merchants.  It  would  have  been  singular  indeed  had  student- 
townsmen  clashes  not  occurred,  for  the  existence  of  two  sets  of 
rights  within  a  given  region  almost  inevitably  leads  to  difficulties 
of  a  most  serious  nature. 


30  Munimenta,  I,  pp.  233-234. 


22 


IV 

TOWN  AND  GOWN  RELATIONS 

The  privileges  held  by  Oxford  officials,  masters,  students  and 
their  servants  led  to  endless  strife  between  university  and 
town  authorities.  The  latter  maintained  that  the  Chancellor- un- 
lawfully set  free  prisoners  who  had  been  arrested  by  the  mayor; 
that  he  appropriated  to  himself  forfeited  victuals  and  fines  to  the 
injury  of  the  fee  farm  at  Oxford;  that  he  released  laymen  from 
prison  only  upon  payment  of  ruinous  sums ;  that  exemption  from 
the  ordinary  process  of  law  was  unduly  extended  to  tailors,  bar- 
bers, writers,  parchment  makers  and  their  families ;  that  he  re- 
quired persons  to  lease  their  houses  to  scholars  for  at  least  .ten 
year  periods,  with  rents  being  set  every  five  years ;  that  he  sum- 
moned persons  before  him  at  unreasonable  times  and  without 
giving  due  notice;  that  he  deprived  soldiers  passing  through  Ox- 
ford of  armour  and  trappings  to  secure  satisfaction  for  their 
scholar-creditors  on  account  of  debts  contracted  elsewhere;  and 
that  when  a  layman  was  wounded  by  a  clerk,  the  Chancellor  se- 
cured possession  of  the  latter's  person  before  it  could  be  ascer- 
tained whether  the  victim  was  still  alive  or  dead. 

Deputies  for  the  university  and  others  for  the  town  appeared 
before  the  king  and  parliament  in  1290,  each  pressing  charges  and 
airing  grievances.  A  settlement  was  at  length  effected  whereby  all 
claims  and  counter  ones  were  dropped;  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Chancellor  was  carefully  defined;  forfeited  victuals  were  to  be 
given  to  the  Hospital  of  St.  John  outside  the  East  Gate;  fines 
for  laymen  were  to  be  reasonable ;  and  only  clerks  and  their  fami- 
lies, the  beadles,  parchment  makers,  illuminators,  writers,  barbers 
and  tailors  were  to  enjoy  the  privileges  of  the  university.  Houses 
could  thereafter  be  rented  for  any  period  though  rates  were  to 
be  set  every  five  years  as  in  the  past;  citizens  were  to  have  a 
day's  notice  to  appear  before  the  Chancellor ;  soldiers'  possessions 
were  to  be  seized  only  for  debts  contracted  at  Oxford ;  and  clerks 
who  had  wounded  residents  of  the  borough  were  to  be  held  until 
the  full  extent  of  the  injuries  inflicted  was  known.1 

Already  in  1214,  the  townsmen  and  gownsmen  had  come  to 
blows,  the  former  hanging  certain  scholars  for  misdemeanors  com- 
mitted. Most  of  the  university  people  promptly  fled  the  city  and 
a  general  migration  impended,  but  such  concessions  were  at 
length  made  by  the  citizens,  whose  incomes  were  to  a  large  extent 
derived  from  the  students,  that  the  authorities  were  persuaded  to 
return.  The  townsmen  agreed  to  remit  half  the  rent  to  scholars 
for  ten  years,  to  give  52  sh.  for  the  use  of  poor  clerks  and  to 

1  Munimenta,  I,  pp.  46-56. 

23 


feast  a  hundred  of  them  annually  as  well  as  to  sell  provisions  at 
just  and  reasonable  rates  in  the  future.  In  addition,  the  particular 
persons  concerned  in  this  outrage  were  obliged  to  come  shoeless, 
hatless  and  cloakless  to  the  graves  of  the  victims  and  there  per- 
form public  penance.2 

A  considerable  conflict  breaking  out  in  February,  1298,  created 
a  tense  situation.  A  group  of  scholars  assaulted  a  city  bailiff 
during  a  dispute  and  stole  his  mace,  the  emblem  of  office.  They 
were  arrested  but  were  rescued  by  friends  who  likewise  entered 
the  home  of  the  chief  bailiff  and  would  have  slain  him  had  he  not 
been  so  fortunate  as  to  escape. 

On  the  next  day  the  students  gathered  at  St.  Mary's  and,  organ- 
izing, beat  up  all  townsmen  on  whom  they  could  lay  hands.  The 
Chancellor  refused  to  arrest  them  or  to  allow  city  authorities  to 
do  so.  Municipal  guards  stationed  about  Oxford  were  attacked 
by  clerks  in  large  numbers.  The  latter  then  fled  to  their  quarters, 
into  which  the  bailiffs  broke  and  arrested  three.  The  Chancellor 
demanded  their  release,  but  without  success. 

About  two  thousand  students  next  opened  a  mass  assault  on 
the  town,  freely  sacking  homes  and  shops.  Many  were  wounded 
and  one  was  killed  in  the  melee  which  followed  and  the  leaders 
were  at  length  arrested.  The  Chancellor  appeared  on  the  scene 
at  that  stage  of  the  fray,  ordered  the  clerks  to  their  lodgings  and 
vainly  sought  to  effect  the  release  of  those  who  had  been  incar- 
cerated. His  demand  for  the  keys  to  the  city  gates  so  that  the 
students  might  flee  into  the  country  if  attacked  was  likewise  re- 
fused, whereupon  the  latter,  coming  to  a  realization  of  the  pre- 
cariousness  of  their  position,  broke  down  one  of  them.3 

The  matter  was  finally  settled  by  a  board  of  arbitration,  one 
member  of  whom  was  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln.  The  townsmen 
recognized  the  liberties  of  the  university,  prisoners  were  freed, 
two  bailiffs  were  removed  from  office,  certain  obnoxious  persons 
were  denied  continued  dealings  with  the  university  and  others  were 
ordered  out  of  the  city.4  Though  the  students  seem  to  have  been 
the  aggressors  here,  victory  clearly  lay  with  them. 

A  still  more  violent  conflict,  the  famous  St.  Scholastica's  town 
and  gown  war,  occurred  in  February,  1354".  In  this,  the  towns- 
men were  triumphant.  Several  students  were  killed  and  most  of 
their  quarters  were  pillaged.5  The  university  suspended  opera- 
tions,6 an  interdict  was  laid  upon  the  townsmen  by  the  Bishop  of 


'  Munimenta,  I,  pp.  1-3. 

8  Mediaeval  Archives,  pp.  45-47. 

'  Munimenta,  I,  pp.  67,  68. 

*  Ibid.,  I,  p.  190. 

8  Mediaeval  Archives,  p.  151. 


24 


Lincoln7  and  it  was  not  until  mid-summer,  on  writ  of  the  king,8 
that  the  Chancellor  and  mayor  arrived  at  an  understanding. 

The  residents  of  Oxford  bound  themselves  and  their  successors 
to  pay  100  marks  to  the  university  each  year,  this  sum  to  be 
delivered  at  St.  Mary's  Church  on  the  anniversary  of  the  contest. 
The  interdict  was  lifted  upon  condition  that  the  mayor,  bailiffs 
and  sixty  of  the  most  prominent  citizens  would  annually  attend 
a  memorial  mass  at  St.  Mary's  and  offer  one  penny  each  at  the 
high  altar.  Of  the  total  sum  given,  40  d.  was  to  be  distributed 
among  poor  students  and  the  balance  was  to  go  to  the  incumbent 
of  the  church.9 

This  settlement  was  ratified  by  the  king,  the  university  was  once 
more  taken  under  his  protection,10  its  privileges  were  renewed  and 
extended11  and  lectures  were  again  begun.  The  annual  payment 
was  subsequently  remitted  but  the  requirement  of  attendance  at 
the  specified  memorial  mass  was  continued.12  It  was,  however, 
necessary  to  pass  an  ordinance  requiring  students  to  abstain  from 
violence  towards  citizens  coming  to  St.  Mary's  on  St.  Scholastica's 
day  in  fulfillment  of  their  obligations.13 

Another  conflict,  a  four  day  battle,  occurred  in  1364  and  the 
townsmen  again  triumphed.  Once  more  a  total  cessation  of  studies 
occurred ;  this  time,  too,  an  interdict  was  laid  against  the  city.14 

Wrangling  between  university  and  city  authorities  was  more  or 
less  continual.  Three-quarters  of  a  century  after  the  clash  just 
mentioned,  "lamentable  dessentions  .  .  .  which  are  a  sign  of  the 
wrath  of  the  Almighty,"  were  rife.  Three  points  were  in  dispute — 
the  turning  over  to  university  officials  of  all  privileged  persons 
arrested  in  the  city  and  put  into  prison  under  accusation  of  felony 
or  treason;  the  privileges  claimed  by  university  people  in  suits 
between  or  against  any  of  them ;  and  proper  punishment  for  assault 
or  the  drawing  of  weapons  by  persons  not  permitted  to  carry  them. 

To  emphasize  the  gravity  of  the  situation,  a  sacred  procession 
was  held,  the  Chancellor  leading  and  being  followed  by  the  doc- 
tors, two  by  two  in  the  rank  of  their  several  faculties.  After  them 
came  the  masters  of  art  and  the  bachelors  of  theology,  in  pairs,  the 
whole  number  praying  silently.15  A  statute  was  also  passed  to 

7  Munimenta,  I,  p.  190. 

8  Mediaeval  Archives,  p.  157. 

*  Munimenta,  I,  pp.  190-202;  Mediaeval  Archives,  pp.  158-160. 

10  Mediaeval  Archives,  pp.  148,  149;  Munimenta,  I,  p.  200. 

"Mediaeval  Archives,  pp.  152-157. 

13  Munimenta,  I,  p.  202;  Mediaeval  Archives,  pp.  170,  171.  The  annual 
payment  of  one  penny  per  person  in  attendance  at  service  was  not  abolished 
until  1825. 

13  Munimenta,  II,  pp.  463,  464. 

"Ibid.,  II,  p.  417. 

"Ibid.,  II,  p.  326. 

25 


prevent  the  "malice  and  cunning  of  the  townsmen"  from  destroy- 
ing the  university.16 

At  length,  in  1460,  a  full  agreement  similar  to  that  of  1290 
was  entered  into.  Under  it,  city  authorities  were  to  surrender 
arrested  persons  upon  demand  by  university  officials  if  this  de- 
mand were  made  within  four  weeks  of  their  incarceration.  Pris- 
oners were  to  be  tried  before  the  Chancellor  within  twelve  weeks 
and  their  goods  and  chattels  were  meanwhile  to  be  kept  in  safe- 
keeping. If  an  accused  townsman  was  found  guilty,  his  posses- 
sions were  to  be  delivered  to  the  mayor  as  "perteyning  to  the  fee- 
ferm,e  of  the  said  towne." 

These  and  no  others  were  to  enjoy  the  privileges  of  the  uni- 
versity— the  Chancellor ;  the  doctors,  masters  and  other  graduates ; 
the  undergraduates  dwelling  within  the  precinct,  no  matter  "of 
what  condition,  order,  or  degree  they  may  be" ;  every  regular 
servant  to  any  of  the  above;  temporary  ones  while  within  the 
school  zone;  and  free  men  of  the  university  with  all  their  house- 
holds. 

Scholars  or  their  servants  selling  goods  were  to  pay  the  custom- 
ary tax  to  city  officials.  The  status  of  arrested  persons  claiming 
privilege  was  to  be  carefully  determined  before  they  were  released. 
If  two  individuals,  one  of  whom  was  privileged,  broke  the  peace, 
the  case  was  to  go  before  the  Chancellor.  If  two  townsmen  or 
foreigners,  or  a  foreigner  and  a  citizen  of  Oxford  broke  the 
peace,  the  mayor  was  to  have  sole  jurisdiction.17 

Following  this  understanding,  comparative  peace  reigned  for 
the  rest  of  our  period. 

It  was  the  anomalous  position  of  university  people,  in  the  city 
yet  not  subject  to  its  laws,  and  the  fact  that  the  university  legally 
had  the  right  to  interfere  in  many  municipal  affairs,  which  led 
to  the  town  and  gown  contests,  among  the  most  colourful  episodes 
of  life  at  medieval  Oxford.  Attempts  were  made  to  settle  points 
at  issue  by  common  agreement  but,  while  this  certainly  did  much 
to  ease  the  situation,  relations  between  the  two  elements  were 
in  no  sense  ever  really  cordial. 


u  Munimenta,  I,  p.  118. 
"Epistolae,  II,  pp.  343-345. 


26 


ACADEMIC  LIFE 

Scholars  in  residence  at  Oxford  were  "clerks"  and  were  there- 
fore tonsured.  All  social  classes  were  represented  in  the  student 
body.  Persons  of  high  estate,  such  as  the  Duke  of  Suffolk's  heir1 
and  Lord  Edward  Pole,  nephew  of  the  king,2  were  eagerly  re- 
cruited by  university  officials.  Because  persons  of  rank  feared 
to  send  their  children  to  Oxford  lest  they  be  induced  to  join  some 
monastic  order,  the  friars  were  forbidden,  under  penalty  of  losing 
the  privilege  of  attendance  which  members  of  their  groups  enjoyed, 
to  attempt  to  win  any  person  under  eighteen  to  their  ranks,  or  to 
assist  in  the  abduction  of  likely  youths.3 

The  poor  students,  however,  predominated.  They  were  not 
infrequently  granted  written  authority  to  beg  for  alms.4  It  was 
they  who  received  a  portion  of  the  St.  Scholastica's  day  offering 
from  the  citizens  attending  mass  at  St.  Mary's;  money  was  also 
distributed  among  them  and  one  hundred  of  their  number  were 
banquetted  annually  in  accordance  with  the  terms  of  the  settle- 
ment following  the  affair  of  1214.5 

Various  loan-funds  known  as  "chests"  were  established  by  pious 
persons  for  the  benefit  of  indigent  students.6  "Of  all  works  of 
charity,  that  of  relieving  the  necessities  of  poor  scholars  is  the 
greatest,  enabling  them  to  acquire  virtue  and  science  for  the  con- 
firmation of  the  true  faith,"  declared  officials  of  the  institution  in 
writing  to  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  and  requesting  his  assist- 
ance in  establishing  a  new  fund.7 

The  regulations  covering  the  making  of  loans  varied  in  details, 
but  the  ordinance  for  the  Chichele  Chest  may  be  taken  as  typical. 
In  1432,  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  gave  200  marks  to  be 
used  for  this  purpose.  Three  custodians  empowered  to  handle 
the  sum  were  to  be  elected  annually.  The  university  might  borrow 
100  sh.  and  any  college  except  St.  Mary  of  Winchester,  five  marks. 
A  master  of  arts  engaged  in  study  might  borrow  40  sh.,  a  licen- 
tiate two  and  a  half  marks,  a  bachelor  two  and  a  scholar  one.  No 
second  loan  was  to  be  made  to  any  corporation  or  individual  until 
the  first  had  been  repaid. 

A  pledge  exceeding  in  value  the  sum  borrowed  had,  in  every 
case,  to  be  deposited  before  a  loan  was  made.  Unredeemed  ones 
were  to  be  sold  in  thirteen  months  as  a  means  of  satisfying  the 

1  Epistolae,  II,  p.  453. 

3  Ibid.,  II,  pp.  454,  455. 
8  Munimenta,  I,  p.  204. 

4  Ibid.,  II,  p.  684. 
8  See  Chapter  IV. 

6  Munimenta,  I,  pp.  66,  82-85,  338;  Hpistolae,  I,  p.  205;  II,  p.  593. 

7  Epistolae,  I,  p.  74. 

27 


debts.  Such  as  were  offered  for  sale  were  not  to  be  lent  out 
on  approval  except  under  careful  restrictions  and  upon  sufficient 
security. 

The  guardians  were  required  to  inspect  the  chest  every  month 
and  to  render  accounting  upon  expiration  of  their  terms  of  office. 
Records  of  transactions,  giving  names  and  particulars,  were  to  be 
kept  and  audited  at  that  time.  Misuse  or  embezzlement  of  funds 
involved  excommunication. 

The  founder  of  the  chest  was  reckoned  among  the  benefactors 
of  the  university  and  his  name  was  to  be  specially  mentioned  when 
prayers  for  such  were  offered  while  mass  for  the  repose  of  his 
soul  was  to  be  said  annually.  All  borrowers  were  furthermore 
to  repeat  the  "Pater  Noster"  and  "Ave  Marie"  five  times  in  be- 
half of  the  founder  and  all  faithful  departed.8 

Guardians  of  chests  who  failed  to  render  the  periodic  account- 
ing were  summoned  before  the  Chancellor's  court.  If  they  did 
not  clear  themselves,  they  stood  "perjured,  deprived  of  degrees, 
and  banished."  When,  for  any  reason  whatsoever,  deficits  oc- 
curred, the  custodians  were  required  to  cover  them.9  In  one 
case  where  a  chest  was  robbed,  the  guardians  were  admitted  to 
compurgation  to  clear  themselves  from  any  suspicion  of  com- 
plicity in  the  crime.10  Unclaimed  pledges  were  regularly  placed 
on  sale  upon  expiration  of  the  time  limit  after  having  been 
priced  by  a  body  of  masters  and  a  stationer.11 

Secular  graduates  were  required  to  wear  proper  academic  dress 
within  the  university  precinct.  The  costumes  for  the  several 
groups,  seasons  and  special  occasions  were  all  carefully  specified. 
Only  masters  of  art,  the  licentiates  of  any  faculty,  persons  of 
noble  or  royal  blood,  sons  of  members  of  parliament  and  those 
with  private  incomes  over  60  marks  annually  might  wear  fur  on 
their  hoods.  We  have  already  noted  the  regulations  covering  the 
tailoring  of  these.12  Silk  robes  in  lieu  of  woolen  ones  were  to 
be  worn  from  Easter  to  All- Saints'  Day.13  Masters  of  theology 
were  required  to  wear  lamb's  wool  on  their  capes.14  Distinguished 
visitors  always  appeared  in  cap  and  gown.  The  Bishop  of  Lincoln 
at  one  time  was  in  the  vicinity  of  Oxford  but,  because  the  servant 
bearing  his  robes  had  taken  another  route,  he  did  not  call,  holding 
it  to  be  unseemly  to  appear  in  his  riding  costume.15 


*Epistolae,  I,  pp.  83-89. 

9  Ibid.,  II,  pp.  364,  449,  450,  474. 

10  Munimenta,  II,  p.  750. 

11  Ibid.,  I,  p.  255. 

"Ibid.,  I,  pp.  301,  360,  361;  II,  pp.  393,  421,  428-430,  434,  448,  450,  457, 
478.    See  Chapter  III. 
"Ibid.,  I,  p.  283. 
"Ibid.,  II,  p.  393. 
"Epistolae,  II,  pp.  512,  513. 

28 


Latin  was,  of  course,  the  tongue  employed  in  university  work. 
Since  that  was  the  "language  most  generally  understood/'  beadles 
were  required  to  use  it  in  making  official  announcements.16 

Regular  and  punctual  attendance  at  classes  was  required  under 
pain  of  excommunication.17  It  eventually  became  quite  easy  to 
enforce  this  regulation  since,  after  the  first  quarter  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  as  we  have  seen,18  scholars  were  required  to  be  under 
the  government  of  some  "sufficient"  principal  and  could  no  longer 
dwell  promiscuously  about  town. 

Servants  might  be  and  frequently  were  engaged.  They,  too, 
were  entitled  to  the  privileges  of  the  university  under  agreement 
with  city  authorities.  One  man  servant  in  the  middle  of  the  fif- 
teenth century  received  an  annual  wage  of  49  sh.  and  a  gown.19 
Every  attendant  in  a  hall  was  required  to  swear  to  the  principal 
that  he  would  not  purchase  victuals  for  resale.20  Carriers  trav- 
elled into  various  parts  of  the  country  from  time  to  time,  gathering 
money,  clothing,  books  and  similar  items  at  the  homes  of  students 
upon  order.21 

In  the  latter  part  of  our  period,  at  least,  lectures  in  the  seven 
sciences  and  the  three  philosophies  were  always  going  on  in  some 
of  the  colleges.22  Regent  Masters  wishing  to  give  instruction  in 
those  subjects  were  divided  into  ten  groups  of  equal  size,  accord- 
ing to  seniority.  The  masters  in  any  division,  as  grammar,  the 
most  elementary  one,  employed  only  books  specified  by  statute. 
The  text  was  first  read.  It  was  then  explained  and  next, 
passages  were  chosen  from  it  and  points  for  discussion  were 
raised  from  these.23  Disputations  were  proclaimed  by  the  beadle, 
with  mention  of  the  thesis,  at  least  a  day  in  advance.24  Ones  in 
grammar  were  held  every  Thursday.25 

Scholars  were  required  to  pay  twelve  pence  a  year  for  lectures 
in  logic  and  eighteen  for  the  course  in  physics.  All  masters  ex- 
cept those  of  noble  origin  were  required  to  accept  payment  for 
their  services  lest  the  ones  dependent  upon  fees  for  a  livelihood 
lose  all  of  their  students  to  free  lecturers  and  thus  suffer  hard- 
ship.26 Collections  for  the  doctors  and  masters  of  the  several 
faculties  were  periodically  made  among  the  resident  learners.27 


18  M unimenta,  I,  p.  283. 
"Ibid.,  II,  pp.426,  427. 
18  See  Chapter  I. 
"Munimenta.  II,  p.  578. 
30  Ibid.,  II,  pp.  468,  469. 
^Epistolae,!!,  pp.611,  657. 

22  Munimenta,  I,  pp.  272-274. 

23  Ibid.,  I,  p.  288. 
14  Ibid.,  I,  p.  288. 
KIbid.,  I,  pp.  86,  87. 

28  Ibid.,  I,  pp.  128,  129. 
"Ibid.,  I,  pp.  256,  257. 


29 


Upon  graduation,  students  were  required  to  give  twenty  shillings 
to  the  beadles,  to  be  divided  among  them,  and  a  pair  of  buckskin 
gloves  to  each,  or,  in  lieu  of  the  latter,  another  five  shillings  was 
to  be  paid  to  the  group  as  a  whole.28  Every  graduate  was  like- 
wise obliged  to  present  clothing  to  one  of  the  stationers.29 

A  minimum  of  four  years  of  study  led  to  the  bachelor's  degree.30 
Logic,  mathematics  and  grammar  were  required  subjects.31  Among 
the  works  studied  were  Boethius,  Priscian,  Donatus  and  Aris- 
totle.32 The  degree  was  granted  after  the  candidate  had  "deter- 
mined," that  is,  had  successfully  argued  some  disputed  question 
or  thesis,  thus  giving  evidence  of  having  profitably  employed  his 
time  as  well  as  of  fitness  for  advanced  courses  leading  to  a  master- 
ship. 

The  number  of  determining  bachelors  was,  at  times,  so  great 
that  the  masters'  quarters  were  all  occupied  and  students  were 
obliged  to  undergo  the  ordeal  in  private  buildings,  where  proper 
attendance  was  impossible.  This  was  thought  to  reflect  upon  the 
university  and  it  was  consequently  ruled  that  determining  must 
be  done  only  in  the  structures  along  School  Street,  in  the  heart  of 
the  student  quarters.  Shifts  were  to  be  employed  if  the  number 
of  candidates  was  large.  In  any  event,  they  were  examined  for 
seven  days  each,  from  nine  to  twelve,  and  from  one  to  five.33 

Aspirants  for  the  baccalaureate  degree  appeared  before  four 
elected  Regents  in  Art34  with  the  testimony  of  former  masters 
in  their  favour.  Only  those  fit  as  to  learning,  morals,  age  and 
stature35  were  given  an  opportunity  to  display  their  powers.  They 
took  an  oath  that  they  had  passed  through  the  necessary  forms  and 
studies  in  logic,  mathematics  and  grammar.  Disputations  were 
held  daily  save  on  Saturday  when  questions  were  taken  up. 

The  masters  corrected  errors  and  interrupted  candidates  who 
were  employing  irrelevant  arguments.  Determiners  were  per- 
mitted to  present  robes  to  such  of  the  masters  before  whom  they 
appeared  whose  incomes  from  benefices  did  not  exceed  twenty 
marks  and  who  were  not  their  own  teachers  or  relatives.  Wining 
and  dining  all  of  them  was  also  held  to  be  proper.36 

28  Munimenta,  I,  pp.  324,  325. 
39  Ibid.,  I,  p.  253. 

30  Ibid.,  II,  p.  410. 

31  Ibid.,  I,  pp.  242,  243. 

32  Ibid.,  I,  p.  34. 
"Ibid.,  I,  pp.  239-241. 

34  To  insure  fairness  to  scholars,  no  matter  where  they  come  from.  The 
North  and  South  students  were  always  at  outs  and  were  at  times  even 
deadly  enemies.  See  Chapter  VI. 

85  A  statute  of  1357  required  that  persons  presented  to  opponency  in  the- 
ology must,  among  other  things,  to  be  of  "proper  stature."  Munimenta,  I, 
p.  204.  Later,  it  was  ruled  that  any  question  arising  on  this  score  must  be 
settled  by  the  congregation.  Munimenta,  II,  p.  454. 

"Ibid.,  I,  pp.  241-247. 

30 


Early  in  the  fifteenth  century  the  work  prescribed  for  deter- 
miners was  held  to  be  too  burdensome  and  less  rigorous  require- 
ments were  put  into  effect.37 

The  master's  degree  was  qualified  for  through  inception  which 
occurred  not  more  than  a  year  after  a  candidate  had  become  a 
licentiate38  upon  testimony  of  his  masters  that  he  would  be  In 
a  position  to  attain  the  higher  rank  within  this  time  limit.39  A 
student  had  normally  spent  eight  years  on  the  seven  liberal  arts 
and  the  three  philosophies  before  gaining  this  more  advanced 
status.40  Masters  of  art  had  studied  grammar  for  one  year,  rhet- 
oric for  three  terms  of  thirty  reading  days  each,  logic  for  three 
terms,  arithmetic  for  a  year,  music  for  the  same  length  of  time, 
geometry  for  two  terms,  astronomy  for  two  and  natural  philoso- 
phy, moral  philosophy  and  metaphysics  for  three  terms  each.41 

This  work  satisfactorily  completed,  the  scholar  proved  his  worth 
in  disputation,  participating  at  least  twice.42  Such  matches  of 
learning  were  gala  occasions  regularly  attended  by  the  masters 
of  the  several  colleges  upon  special  invitation  of  the  participants 
and  by  large  numbers  of  bachelors  as  well,  with  the  dress  worn 
minutely  regulated.43  Successful  candidates  were  required  to 
feast  the  Regent  Masters  on  inception  day  or  otherwise  to  forfeit 
sums  determined  by  their  estate  and  income.44 

Occasionally,  students  finding  themselves  disqualified  through 
lack  of  ability  or  indolence  attempted  to  secure  degrees  by  having 
influential  persons  bring  pressure  to  bear  on  university  officials 
in  their  behalf,  with  the  result  that  individuals  seeking  such  dis- 
pensations were  held  to  be  incapable  of  receiving  diplomas  of 
any  grade.45 

Graduation  time  seems  to  have  been  one  of  wild  revelry,  dis- 
order and  violence  and  at  banquets,  more  annoyance  than  pleasure 
was  commonly  experienced  by  host  and  guests  alike.  A  statute 
was  consequently  passed  forbidding  the  halting  and  detention  of 
masters  or  their  domestics  going  to  or  from  such  a  feast,  permit- 
ting only  university  servants  or  the  inceptor  himself  to  enter  the 
banquet  hall  until  the  guests  had  arrived  and  requiring  seating  at 
table  in  the  order  of  rank.  "Noone  shall  beat  the  doors,  tables, 
or  roof,  or  throw  stones  or  other  missiles  so  as  to  disturb  the 


37  Munimenta,  I,  pp.  260,  261. 
"Ibid.,  II,  p.  377. 

39  Ibid.,  I,  p.  313;  II,  p.  449.    Becoming  a  licentiate  was  not  unlike  taking 
a  preliminary  Ph.D.  examination  today. 

40  That  is,  he  had  done  four  years  of  graduate  work.    At  one  time,  how- 
ever, but  three  seem  to  have  been  required.    See  Munimenta,  II.  p.  416. 

"Ibid.,  I,  p.  286. 

"Ibid.,  II,  p.  416. 

43  Ibid.,  II,  pp.  430-435. 

"Ibid.,  I,  pp.  353,354. 

ulbid.,  I,  pp.  206,  332,  333. 

31 


guests,  under  pain  of  imprisonment,  excommunication,  and  a  fine 
of  twelve  pence."46 

In  1229,  by  letters  patent,  an  invitation  was  extended  to  the 
University  of  Paris  to  migrate  to  Oxford  following  town  and 
gown  disputes  in  the  French  metropolis.47  This  was  not  accepted, 
presumably  because  of  the  liberal  terms  of  settlement  offered  by 
the  Parisians.  Relations  between  the  two  institutions  cannot, 
however,  on  the  whole,  have  been  very  cordial,  for  inceptors  were 
required  to  swear  that  they  would  recognize  only  Oxford  and 
Cambridge  as  universities48  and  n^asters  from  the  University  of 
Paris  were  not  permitted  to  read  at  the  former.49  The  trouble 
seems  to  have  been  that  the  French  refused  to  deal  with  the 
English  on  a  basis  of  equality  in  the  matter  of  granting  degrees.50 

Oxford  graduates  were  also  required  to  swear  that  they  would 
never  lecture  at  Stamford.51  This  was  an  echo  of  the  schism  of 
1333-1334.  Stamford,  an  ecclesiastical  center,  bade  fair  early  in 
the  fourteenth  century  to  become  the  seat  of  a  university  rivalling 
Oxford  and  Cambridge.  In  1333,  the  north  English  students  at 
Oxford  battled  those  from  southern  districts  and,  upon  meeting 
defeat,  moved  en  masse  to  Stamford  and  sought  the  king's  per- 
mission to  continue  in  residence  there. 

Edward  III  ordered  them  to  desist  but  they  set  his  orders  at 
naught.  A  royal  agent  and  the  sheriff  of  Lincoln  subsequently 
ejected  the  rebels  in  1335,  but  citizens  of  Stamford  persuaded  many 
to  return.  The  property  of  those  who  did  so — seventeen  masters, 
six  parish  priests  and  fourteen  undergraduates — was  thereupon 
confiscated  to  the  Crown.  A  counter-part  to  this  struggle  was 
meanwhile  going  on  at  Oxford,  where  complete  anarchy  reigned 
between  the  northern  and  southern  students.  The  disorder  was 
finally  put  down  with  a  show  of  force  after  Cambridge  sided 
with  its  great  rival,  and  their  educational  monopoly  was  strength- 
ened.52 

Bachelors  in  theology  and  masters  of  art  took  precedence  on 
the  occasion  of  events  such  as  a  procession.53  Public  sermons 
were  preached  in  St.  Mary's  every  Sunday  morning  during  the 
scholastic  year.  They  were  delivered  by  bachelors  or  doctors  of 
theology  in  turn  and  two  months  time  was  given  for  preparation. 
With  something  like  poetic  justice,  anyone  who  should  have 

"Munimenta,  I,  pp.  308,  309. 
"Mediaeval  Archives,  pp.  17,  18. 

48  Munimenta,  II,  p.  375. 

49  Ibid.,  II,  pp.  446. 

80  Epistolae,  I,  p.  322. 
*l  Muniment  a,  II,  p.  375. 

63  H.  H.  Henson,  "The  Stamford  Schism,"  in   Collectanea,  First  Series 
(Oxford,  1885),  p.  3.    See  Chapter  VI  for  North  and  South  frays. 
"Munimenta,  I,  p.  233. 

32 


notified  a  given  individual  that  he  was  slated  to  speak  but  had 
failed  to  do  so  in  time  was  himself  obliged  to  preach  instead.54 

Masters  were  required  to  keep  their  seats  at  university  assem- 
blies and  to  speak  only  in  turn,  abstaining  at  all  times  from  abuse 
or  intemperate  language.55 

Heresy  was  carefully  guarded  against.  The  use  of  Ovidfc>  -de 
Arte  Amandi  in  the  grammar  courses  was  strictly  forbidden.56 
Wyclif's  and  Pecok's  works  were  burned.57  The  teaching,  de- 
fending or  maintaining  of  doctrines  condemned  by  church  councils, 
as  that  of  London  held  in  1411,  was  forbidden  and  the  decisions 
of  such  gatherings  were  kept  on  file  so  as  to  be  readily  accessible 
to  all.58 

Inceptors  were  required  to  take  an  oath  not  to  support  heresy 
of  any  kind  and  not  to  uphold  the  teachings  of  William  Russell.59 
"Degenerate  sons  of  the  university,"  travelling  about  the  country 
declaring  that  Christ  begged  from  door  to  door,  a  statement  re- 
cently condemned  by  the  Papacy,  were  served  with  summons  to 
appear  before  the  Chancellor  for  trial  on  the  charge  of  dissemi- 
nating unorthodox  views.60  One  Friar  John  who  maintained 
that  tithes  belonged  to  the  mendicant  brothers  more  justly  than 
to  the  rectors  of  churches  and  that  the  king  had  the  right  to  de- 
prive ecclesiastics  of  this  temporalities,  was  forced  to  retract  both 
statements  and  was  subjected  to  a  heavy  fine  in  addition.61  The 
conduct  of  masters  accused  of  heresy  was  carefully  investigated.62 

Pestilence  raged  at  Oxford  in  1486  and  in  1500,  resulting  in 
many  fatalities.63  The  Black  Death  of  a  century  and  a  half 
before  must  have  taken  a  large  toll  since  the  university  lay  on  a 
much-travelled  highway. 

Certain  of  the  regulations  covering  behavior  afford  intimate 
pictures  of  student  life  during  medieval  days.  At  the  close  of 
the  thirteenth  century,  the  scholars  in  William  of  Durham's  col- 
lege were  required  to  speak  Latin  and  were  forbidden  to  fight, 
to  sing  smutty  songs,  to  tell  off-colour  tales  or  to  ridicule  each 
other.64  Gatherings  to  celebrate  national  holidays  were  for- 
bidden, as  was  dancing  in  churches  or  on  porches  by  persons 
disguised  in  masks  and  decorated  with  flowers  and  leaves.65  We 


54  Munimenta,  I,  pp.  290-292. 

58  Ibid.,  I,  p.  312. 
"Ibid.,  II,  p.  441. 
"Epistolae,  II,  pp.  411,  412. 
68  Munimenta,  I,  pp.    267-270. 

59  Ibid.,  II,  pp.  374-376. 
*°Epistolae,  II,  p.  485. 

61  Munimenta,  I,  pp.  208-211. 
"Bpistolae,  II,  p.  415. 
"Ibid.,  II,  pp.  508,  509,662. 

64  Munimenta,  I,  pp.  56-61. 

65  Ibid.,  I,  p.  18. 


33 


have  already  seen  that  the  carrying  of  arms  was  not  permitted. 

Students  were  likewise  forbidden  to  frequent  disorderly  houses 
and  annual  inquisitions  were  conducted  by  the  Chancellor  to  dis- 
cover scholars  doing  so  and  those  entertaining  prostitutes  in  their 
own  chambers  or  practicing  self-abuse.66 

Disturbers  of  the  peace  who  refused  to  go  to  prison  were  ipso 
facto  banished  as  were  individuals  breaking  from  jail  while  serv- 
ing sentence.67 

A  chaplain  had  charge  of  the  library.  He  was  elected  in  con- 
gregation for  a  term  of  one  year  and  might  be  re-elected  so  long 
as  he  remained  fit  in  morals  and  fidelity  and  performed  his  duties 
properly.  He  was  to  be  paid  100  sh.  annually  from  the  assizes 
of  bread  and  beer,  besides  receiving  his  customary  fee  of  6  sh.  8  d. 
for  celebrating  masses.  All  beneficed  students  were,  furthermore, 
to  present  him  with  robes  upon  graduation  and  he  was  to  have 
a  month  of  vacation  annually. 

To  prevent  books  from  being  worn  out  and  to  maintain  the 
proper  atmosphere  of  decorum  for  serious  study,  only  advanced 
students  were  regularly  admitted  and  visitors  were  rigorously  ex- 
cluded. Scholars  were  required  to  wear  the  robes  of  their  degree 
when  in  the  library  and  all  users  of  books  were  obliged  to  take 
an  oath  that  they  would  handle  them  properly,  making  no  erasures 
or  blots. 

The  library  doors  were  open  from  nine  to  eleven  and  from 
one  to  four  except  on  Sundays  and  on  days  when  university 
masses  were  said.  If  the  Chancellor  or  some  distinguished  person 
not  connected  with  the  institution  wished  to  use  the  books,  they 
might  do  so  at  any  time  from  sunrise  to  sunset.  A  list  of  works 
available,  with  the  names  of  the  donors,  was  posted.68 

The  meeting  and  free  mingling  of  all  classes  at  Oxford  resulted 
in  the  growth  of  better  feeling  between  persons  of  various  estate 
and,  while  rank  was  by  no  means  forgotten,  scholastic  achieve- 
ment was  frankly  recognized  as  the  true  basis  for  judging  worth. 

The  education  given  was  substantial,  covering  well  the  fields  of 
contemporary  interest.  Degrees  were  granted  on  the  basis  of  work 
accomplished;  favoritism  had  little  play.  Students  were  kept  at 
their  work  and  high  standards  of  conduct,  which  the  great  major- 
ity doubtless  lived  up  to,  were  placed  before  them.  Many  regu- 
lations covering  the  granting  of  degrees  were  substantially  like 
those  of  our  own  day,  affording  clear  evidence  of  the  very  close 
connection  between  the  medieval  and  the  modern  university. 

"Munimenta,  I,  pp.  16,  17,  24,  25. 
"Ibid.,  I,  p.  95. 
"Ibid.,  I,  pp  261-268. 


34 


VI 

MISDEMEANORS 

While  gownsmen  formed  a  unit  in  their  relations  with  towns- 
men, serious  disorders  at  times  broke  out  among  themselves.  The 
most  marked  of  these  were  the  broils  between  northern  and  south- 
ern students,  the  former  including  persons  from  Wales  and 
Ireland.  In  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century  an  affair  marked 
by  great  turmoil  resulted  in  representatives  of  both  groups  meet- 
ing in  conference  and  drawing  up  an  agreement  to  restore  order. 
In  the  future,  from  thirty  to  forty  members  of  each  faction  were 
to  bind  themselves  individually  not  to  break  the  peace  and  to 
warn  the  Chancellor  if  they  heard  of  trouble  brewing.1 

However,  in  1274,  some  twenty  years  later,  the  Irish  students 
were  driven  from  Oxford  after  a  battle  resulting  in  fatalities  on 
both  sides.2  At  the  opening  of  the  fourteenth  century  it  was 
ruled  that  since  the  division  of  scholars  into  these  two  bodies 
led  to  constant  disturbance,  meetings  for  the  purpose  of  gaming 
popular  support  for  individual  grievances  might  no  longer  be 
held.3  This  did  not,  however,  settle  the  problem;  the  Stamford 
Schism,  already  discussed,  was  a  north  and  south  war. 

Members  of  the  several  faculties  were  also  on  bad  terms  with 
each  other.  Thus,  in  1470,  the  Archbishop  of  York  was  appealed 
to  to  settle  the  "ancient  feud"  between  the  doctors  of  medicine 
and  the  doctors  of  civil  law.4 

Bachelors  claiming  the  title  of  master  were  another  source  of 
trouble  during  the  fifteenth  century.  They  were  so  called  by  their 
servants  and,  at  public  meetings,  demanded  the  honors  of  that 
rank  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  institution  had  rendered  a 
decision  against  their  pretentions.5  Such  was  their  audacity 
that  they  wore  masters'  hats,  "to  their  own  damnation  and  the 
ruin  of  the  university."6 

The  carrying  of  daggers  was  a  common  offence.  If  students 
found  armed  were  unable  to  prove  that  they  were  beginning  or 
ending  a  considerable  journey  at  the  time  they  were  apprehended, 
they  were  jailed  or  fined  and  their  weapons  were  confiscated  or 
the  revenues  from  their  benefices  were  sequestered.7  Murders 
and  stabbings  were  the  natural  results  of  such  carrying  of  arms.8 

1  Munimenta,  I,  p.  20. 
8  Mediaeval  Archives,  p.  332. 
3  Munimenta,  I,  p.  92. 
*Epistolae,  II,  p.  383. 
5  Ibid.,  I,  pp.  115,  130. 
0  Munimenta,  I,  p.  360. 

7  Ibid.,  I,  pp.  16,  17,  40;  II,  pp.  505,  510,  527,  633,  682,  717;  Hpistolae,  I, 

8  Munimenta,  II,  p.  534,  674;  Hpistolae,  II,  p.  406. 

35 


Half  the  value  of  those  seized  was  paid  to  the  Chancellor  and  the 
other  half  went  to  the  university.9 

Prostitutes  throve  about  the  Latin  Quarter.  When  caught,  they 
were  banished,  at  times  after  first  being  pilloried  or  jailed.10  Sus- 
pected women  were  forbidden  to  entertain  students.11 

In  1432,  a  schedule  of  fines  was  established  to  cover  cases  of 
violence,  since  they  were  "more  dreaded  than  anything  in  the  way 
of  punishment."  Threats  of  personal  violence  were  to  result  in 
a  fine  of  twelve  pence;  the  carrying  of  weapons,  two  shillings; 
pushing  with  a  shoulder  or  striking  with  a  fist,  four  shillings ; 
hitting  with  a  stone  or  club,  six  shillings  eight  pence ;  doing  bodily 
harm  with  a  knife,  dagger,  sword  or  axe,  ten  shillings;  carrying 
a  bow  and  arrow,  twenty  shillings ;  gathering  armed  men,  thirty 
shillings;  resisting  the  execution  of  justice  or  going  about  at 
night,  forty  shillings.12 

The  penalty  was  to  be  doubled  for  the  second  offence,  trebled 
for  the  third  and  quadrupled  for  the  fourth,  with  banishment  as 
an  additional  punishment  in  the  graver  cases.  Persons  refusing 
to  give  the  names  of  accomplices  were  to  be  fined  for  each  such 
on  the  above-named  basis.  One-third  of  the  fines  collected  were 
to  be  paid  to  the  Chancellor,  one-third  to  the  university  and  the 
other  third  to  the  proctors,  minus  one-twelfth,  to  which  the  beadles 
were  entitled.13 

Difficulties  with  individual  townsmen  were  numerous.  Thus, 
we  find  one  scholar  imprisoned  for  threatening  a  tailor.  The 
latter  and  his  servant  were,  however,  later  fined  for  insulting  the 
client  during  his  incarceration.14  A  doctor  of  canon  law  gave 
surety  to  keep  the  peace  with  a  taverner,  an  apothecary  and  two 
other  citizens.15  Several  residents  of  Oxford  and  a  student  were 
hailed  before  the  Chancellor  on  charges  of  violence,  parading  the 
streets  after  sundown,  beating  up  a  tailor  and  robbery.16 

At  one  time  or  another,  a  servant  boy  was  stolen17 ;  beer  was 
seized  on  a  main  thoroughfare18 ;  a  master  gathered  armed  bands 
for  the  purpose  of  disturbing  the  peace19 ;  the  mayor  of  Oxford 
was  in  bodily  fear  of  one  John  Davell20 ;  a  native  shot  at  the 


9  Munimenta,  II,  p.  464. 

"Ibid.,  II,  pp.  533,  538,  539,  660;  Bpistolae,  II,  486,  653. 

11  Munimenta,  II,  pp.  674,  718. 

"Ibid.,  I,  pp.  303-306. 

"Ibid.,  I,  pp.  315-318. 

"Ibid.,  II,  p.  193. 

"Ibid.,  II,  p.  525. 

"Ibid.,  II,  pp.  634,  635. 

"Ibid.,  II,  p.  505. 

"Ibid.t  II,  p.  506. 

18  Ibid.,  II,  p.  633. 

90  Ibid.,  II,  p.  721. 

36 


proctors  and  was  banished21 ;  while  the  partisans  of  E.  Hampden 
assaulted  members  of  the  university  whenever  they  ventured  away 
from  their  quarters.22 

Even  persons  of  high  rank  were  not  secure  from  assault  on 
the  part  of  gownsmen.  In  1238,  Cardinal  Otto  was  attacked  by  a 
group  of  them23  and  two  centuries  later,  in  1423,  the  family  of 
the  Earl  of  Warwick  was  set  upon  by  rebellious  scholars.24  Nor 
was  authority  respected,  for,  in  1462,  students  broke  into  the  house 
of  John  Harris,  the  beadle,  with  the  intent  to  murder  him.25 

Four  scholars  of  the  fourteen  hundreds  were  caught  trespassing, 
being  on  the  trail  of  rabbits  and  deer.26  On  another  occasion,  two 
accused  of  violence  and  robbery  from  the  person  did  not  appear 
when  cited  with  the  result  that  their  gowns  were  sequestered  and 
they  themselves  were  banished.27  Two  Welsh  students  stole  a 
horse  left  with  an  innkeeper  who,  unhappily  enough,  was  required 
to  pay  the  owner  forty-six  shillings  eight  pence  in  three  install- 
ments.28 

The  variety  of  persons  enjoying  the  privileges  of  the  university 
resulted  in  queer  cases  being  brought  into  the  Chancellor's  court. 
Thus,  Alice  Stycol,  a  scold,  was  sentenced  to  imprisonment  for 
her  frequent  indulgence  in  tongue  lashings,29  while  Anisia  Lam- 
bard  was  required  to  give  security  that  she  would  abstain  from 
further  threatening  her  neighbors.30  Similarly,  Agnes  Petypace 
gave  bond  that  she  would  not  beat  her  servant  immoderately  in 
the  future31  and  when  Margery  Snow,  cited  for  violence  and 
prison  breaking,  failed  to  answer  the  summons,  she  was  banished.32 

When  a  tailor  involved  in  a  stabbing  affair  fled  to  Broadgate's 
Hall  for  sanctuary,  he  was  pursued  and  dragged  forth  by  the 
proctors  who  took  him  into  custody  despite  his  protestations.  He 
was,  however,  promised  that  he  would  be  restored  to  sanctuary  if 
his  life  was  imperilled  and  this  was  subsequently  done.33  When 
a  master  threatened  with  excommunication  and  his  students 
entered  into  a  conspiracy  whereby  the  latter  snatched  the  docu- 


21  Munimenta,  II,  p.  576. 
"Epistplae,  II,  pp.  607,  608. 
23  Munimenta,  I,  p.  6. 
^Hpistolae,  I.  p.  7. 
25  Munimenta,  II,  p.  696. 
"Ibid.,  II,  pp.  669,  670. 
27  Ibid.,  II,  p.  531. 
KIbid.,  II,  pp.  684,  685. 
20  Ibid.,  II,  p.  548. 

30  Ibid.,  II,  pp.  709,  710. 

31  Ibid.,  II,  p.  726. 

32  Ibid.,  II,  p.  659. 

33  Ibid.,  II,  pp.  702-704. 


37 


ment  containing  the  sentence  from  the  priest's  hands  as  it  was 
being  read,  all  concerned  were  jailed.34 

In  1457,  a  parish  priest  of  St.  Mary's  was  accused  of  having 
stolen  £100  from  the  Danvers  loan  chest.35  Scholars  of  Devon 
and  Cornwall  seized  an  image  of  St.  Peter  in  that  church  and 
placed  it  on  the  high  altar  at  St.  Frideswydes,  inviting  other 
scholars  to  attend  mass  there.36  A  master  was  obliged  to  retract 
offensive  language  used  against  the  commissary  before  congrega- 
tion.37 Claims  for  back-rent  were  satisfied  by  confiscating  the 
delinquents'  goods  and  selling  them.38 

Cases  might  be  settled  out  of  court  by  litigants  agreeing  upon 
an  arbiter  and  submitting  their  dispute  to  him.  Where  this  was 
done,  both  parties  bound  themselves  to  abide  by  the  decision 
rendered  under  penalty  of  heavy  forfeiture.  Arbiters  not  infre- 
quently included  a  reconciliation  feast  among  the  terms  of  settle- 
ment.39 

In  one  case,  at  least,  a  banished  student  was  refused  re-admis- 
sion upon  the  specific  request  of  the  king,  it  being  held  that  if  his 
offences  were  overlooked,  others  would  imitate  him.40 

These  cases  provide  picturesque  details  in  the  picture  of  student 
life  at  medieval  Oxford,  as  preserved  for  us  in  university  records. 

"Munimenta,  II,  pp.  601,  602. 
"Ibid.,  II,  p.  669. 
3*Bpistolae,  I,  p.  133. 
"  Munimenta,  II,  p.  680. 
*Ibid-.f  II,  pp.  555,  627-631. 
"Ibid.,  II,  pp.  712-715,  720. 
"Epistolae,  I,  p.  264. 


38 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

SOURCES 

Epistolae  Academicae  Oxon  (Registrum  F).  Edited  by  the  Rev- 
erend Henry  Anstey.  2  vols.,  Oxford,  1898. 

Mediaeval  Archives  of  the  University  of  Oxford.  Edited  by  H. 
F.  Salter.  Oxford,  1920. 

Muniment  a  Academica  Oxon.  Edited  by  the  Reverend  Henry 
Anstey.  2  vols.,  London,  1868. 

SECONDARY  WORKS 

Brodrick,  George  C.     Memorials  of  Merton  College.     Oxford, 

1885. 
Green,  John  R.  and  Roberson,  George.    Studies  in  Oxford  History. 

Oxford,  1901. 

Henson,  H.  H.  'The  Stamford  Schism,"  in  Collectanea,  First 
Series.  Oxford,  1885. 

Objects  and  Work  of  the  Oxford  Historical  Society,  The.  Ox- 
ford, 1900. 

Parker,  James.  The  Early  History  of  Oxford,  727-1 100.  Oxford, 
1885. 

Students3  Handbook  to  the  University  and  Colleges  of  Oxford. 
Oxford,  annually  as  1921. 


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